(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming ice pieces into ice vessels for dishing up or covering food such as vegetable salad, sashimi or the like.
(b) Description of Prior Art
In the past, an apparatus for producing ice vessel for vegetable salad or the like has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Un-Examined Publication No.6-194018, of which the columns 1 and 2 disclose an apparatus for producing ice vessels comprising a female die, a male die opposite to said female die for cooperating with said female die to define a mold cavity for forming said ice vessels, a through-hole formed at the bottom of said female die, a pushing-out pin which is raised and lowered in said through-hole by an elevator device, a chute box for feeding ice pieces from suitable ice crusher into said female die, said chute box having an outlet located above said female die and an inlet located below said ice crusher for receiving ice pieces therefrom, a carrier-arm device provided above said female die. The prior apparatus for producing ice vessels is operated in such a manner that relatively large masses of ice pieces fed from an ice making machine are crushed by the ice crusher and then supplied to the female die through the chute box, which are molded by the male die cooperating with the female die, so that molded ice vessels are taken out by the pushing-out pin raised by the elevator device, which are subsequently transported by the carrier arm device.
Such molded ice vessels are generally served for guests of a hotel or an inn, either with vegetable salad or sashimi accommodated therein to keep them cool or with such food dished up in a vessel in advance covered therewith.
According to the prior art, however, when ice pieces are fed from the chute into the female die, ice pieces have accumulated more thickly or heaped up in the center thereof than in the edge side thereof, which has sometimes caused molded ice vessel to be easily broken off at its edge side.
Further, according to the prior art, ice masses are ceaselessly supplied from the ice making machine to the ice crusher, which are subsequently crushed thereby to be yet ceaselessly fed into the female die. However, such production process of ice pieces cannot meet needs for constant ice volume required for producing one ice vessel, so that it has been difficult to supply ice pieces in proper quantities.
Furthermore, according to the prior art, as molded ice vessels have to be taken out one by one by means of the pushing-out pin, so that it cannot realize a mass production of ice vessels.